Patients’ Rights to Health Care Services, Essay Example

Conscientious Objection Authority of Health Care Providers and the Patients’ Rights to Health Care Services

Many jurisdictions possess conscience options for health care providers. The conscience option enables the physician with the authority of denying service on religious and moral grounds. The majority of these state regulations, in addition to the conscience objections which are applied by institutions, professional regulations and federal laws were put into effect subsequent to the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973. The conscience objection clauses enable health care professional to deny service with regards to legal abortions. Presently, many of the health care students have the option of denying learning how to conduct an abortion, as they are enable to do so by means of the code of ethical conduct which is published by the American medical association. A health care professional who denies the patient an abortion has the right to deny this service on moral and religious grounds (Berlinger, 2014).

There are many conscience objection clauses which are directed toward sterilization, contraception, abortion and the denial of life supporting interventions. Several of the conscience clauses provide coverage for local circumstances such as the health care professionals’ authority to deny participation in euthanasia, which is permitted in the State of Oregon. There are other conscience objection clauses which are generic and basically provide authorization for the health care professional to deny service on the religious and moral perspectives which are held.  The conscience objection clauses have participated as a subject of interest in the FDA discussion over the amplified access to Plan B. This debate includes the health care providers’ refusal of providing service to females who request emergency contraceptive medication (Berlinger, 2014).

The patients who are seventeen years of age and younger are required to have a prescription which has been emitted by a health care provider for the procurement of emergency contraceptives. The women have the right to request emergency contraceptives.  The pharmacist may deny service but cannot deter access to the pharmacy service.

Works Cited

Berlinger, N. “Conscience clauses, health care providers and patients.” The Hastings Center.org, 2014. Web. 17 February 2014 http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/briefingBook/detail.aspx??